Pokemon Re-establishment Centre
by Windpheonix
Summary: We are a group caring for Pokemon abandoned by their trainers. Our purpose is to care for them and to re-establish their trust to humans.


Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon in any shape way or form. I write this piece of fiction for entertainment purpose only and I don't earn any money with it.

Pokemon Re-establishment Centre (PRE):

We are a group caring for Pokemon abandoned by their trainers. Our purpose is to care for them and to re-establish their trust to humans.

Gwen sighed as he looked at the signature under the codex of the PRE. It was written with blue ink, the letters neat and clearly legible on the white paper.

Beneath it, there was her address.

It was a nice apartment building near to the city park.

Unfortunately it had taken him a while to find the building in the small streets surrounding the old part of the city, so he was late.

But point being was, he hadn't met her yet and Gwen had decided to pay the newly assigned participant a visit.

After all he was not going to throw any of the Pokemon in with some random person.

It did not sit well with him to assign a Pokemon to a trainer he had not met by person, but his college falling sick suddenly Gwen had to take over work for his ever positive co-worker.

Their job was to pick out the trainers for the Pokemon in their care. Gwen had taken a liking to this Pokemon in the beginning and it did not sit well with him, that the remaining participant was one he had not interviewed.

/ Not that I doubt that Mark has been doing a good job, but… Better to get a look. /

And here he was, ruffling his dark brown hair and worrying, if she would be the right choice. After all, abandoned Pokemon didn't just take anyone. It needed lots of time, care and patience to earn their trust. Sometimes they never returned it at all.

"Oh damn it. There is no choice anyway."

So he raised his hand, knocked at the brown wooden door and hoped that she was actually at home.

A young woman opened the door. Dark brown hair dishevelled, she yawned, sleep filled eyes looking at him.

"Good morning, what can I do?" Her voice was quite, her brown eyes slightly off focus.

Gwen cleared his throat. "Hello, my name is Gwen. I'm Mark's co-worker in the PRE, may I come in?"

As she heard Mark's name Akira woke up.

She had not expected another visit of the PRC so soon.

_Just my luck, that they come right the morning after my night shift._

"Please come in." Akira unlocked the safety chain and opened her door.

Mark stepped inside, studying her flat intently.

Akira shrugged her shoulders. There was not that much to see.

From the door you took a turn to the right and stepped right into the living room, where a counter divided it from the kitchen.

Mark sat down at the wooden kitchen table. It had a shine to it, as if it was very new. The whole place still smelt faintly of paint. It was clear that the flat had seen some work recently.

"I hope tea is fine. I don't drink coffee." The brown haired girl's cup was already half-drained of the black liquid. Her eyes were a lot clearer now, posture more collected.

"Sure. I don't really have a favourite there." He took a sip and reached for the sugar Akira had put on the table. This tea was sure strong.

"Sorry to come here without notice, but Mark has fallen sick and I need to go through the list of participants for the program. It is quite serious; because it is clear he does not take well to life in the centre…"

"and you would like to have him out of there. I understand" Akira had finished the sentence for Gwen. She caught his stare and grimaced. "Sorry, bad habit of mine. Try to get rid of it, but still breaks through. So, am I still in?"

Gwen sighed. He didn't really mind, that she had finished his sentence, but her last words gave his heart a sting. Far too few people offered to take in hurt Pokemon nowadays and even fewer actually signed up to take them in forever just too much trouble with too little, too unsure results.

"Is something wrong?"

Brown eyes had narrowed, looking against the sun to study his face, as he sat with his back to the window and the sun shone freely this morning.

Gwen took a deep breath, opened his fist, clenched in frustration, and grabbed his cup.

"Sure, it's just that the list is pretty short right now. Lucario is not an easy case…"

Akira frowned. "Is something wrong?" Gwen felt like an echo, just repeating what she had said a moment ago.

"No, it's fine."

"To be entirely truthfully, there were three people on the list which were willing and had the supplies to accommodate a Pokemon like Lucario. One said he had already gotten a Pokemon and didn't want a second right now. The other said no, as the heard about his state."

"So it's either me, or nothing? Sounds like no pressure."

Now it was Gwen's turn to frown.

"No. Don't look at it like that. If you take him because of that it will go wrong."

_But at least now I can be sure, that she is the right one. No second thoughts when I mentioned he was rejected because of his state. _

"You got it wrong that was sarcasm. I wanted to help someone and have someone to keep me company, seeing that I just moved here with a new job and all."

Mark nodded, he already new that out of her folder. Having made his decision he stood up.

"Again, I'm sorry for coming here without calling you. I will talk to my superior. Goodbye."

Akira got up as well, took his now empty cup and shook his hand. Her fingers were slim, but strong and warm from the cup she had held.

"Goodbye. Tell Lucario hello, even if I didn't get to meet him yet."

* * *

Gwen hurried back through the streets, buzzing with life. Lunch break was nearing its end, so people hurried to get back to work.

For s spring day sun was already quite hot and Gwen sighed as he reached the PRE building and took of his coat. Ignoring the delicious smells drafting through the ground floor Gwen headed through the information room, the maze of offices and finally reached the training grounds.

The PRE centre had a high front, facing the street, the rest of the property was covered in grass and trees with a big lake and various cottages scattered over the area to accommodate their "guests" as the Pokemon they took in were called.

The brown haired young man knew where this certain Pokemon would be.

Leaning at the wall, Lucario meditated with his legs crossed, sunlight warming his fur, colouring it a vibrant shade of blue.

"Lucario"

Gwen stepped closer and settled down on the soft grass at a distance Luario found comfortable.

The blue Pokemon's growl was the only answer he got.

"We've found someone, who could offer you a new home."

Lucario opened his dark blue eyes and turned to look at the human.

"You would have to accept of course. You know, I will come by regularly to see how you two are doing…"

No movement betrayed Lucario's feelings as Gwen's voice faded out. The young man didn't know how to approach this and so he decided to wait for the Pokemon to react.

Splashing sounds were hared from the lake. Several good-natured water Pokemon enjoyed the warm sun.

Finally Lucario gave a sharp nod.

When will I leave?

"I have to finish the paper work first, she should come soon afterwards. Not more than a week."

Gwen stood up, brushing over his trousers, irritated by the moisture, not enough to stain his cloths, but enough to make them cling to his legs.

Walking towards the main building he dodged several smaller Pokemon, playing tag, too young to be bothered by what had happened.

_Lucky ones. I hope Lucario is going to be fine. Akira is his only chance to get a personal trainer right now and he does need one. _

_We have too much to do with the administrative stuff; we can't care for all off them enough. _

Unfortunately it was true. Since Lucario had been handed over by his owner`s parents after a lost battle with /Only/ wounds from the battle he had gotten the usual speech and was then released to medical care.

The kid's parents had had no idea what they were getting into when they bought a pokemon from a dingy trainer and gave it to their lad. Luckily they had had the good sense to turn for help when needed, but Lucario had already paid the price.

Gwen clenched his hands. If only they could get their hands onto people like the one who first caught the aura pokemon, there would be a lot less work in the PRE.

Only abused cases got more attention.

Pokemon like Lucario had to work it out on their own.

* * *

The last day in the PRE was for Lucario filled with worries.

His opinion about humans was split.

On one hand, there was Gwen, a kind young man, which had released him from his Poke ball and told him that his trainer had given him away.

Although Lucario hadn't made a move Gwen seemed to be able to feel his emotions, as he told Lucario what was going to happen further, as he tried to sooth his hurt feelings, that his trainer hadn't even had the decency to say goodbye or explain why.

What he felt about the other type of humans was probably already said.

They were trainers. In his opinion they were just using him, not caring about his feelings.

What would this person, that had offered to take him, be like? Would he would be like the one who caught him, or like Gwen?

Lucario didn't know what to hope for. With his first trainer structure had been clear. Win and be rewarded. Loose and be punished. Loose too badly and get lost.

At least Lucario hadn't ended as the last Pokemon that had failed to please the trainer. He had left him, right on the battlefield, without looking back, while ignoring his cries.

His second one had been a lighter spot in the dark area. There were loads of rules. At times they were ignored, at times they were enforces strictly, it hadn`t been bad, just confusing.

With Gwen, Lucario didn't know what to do, how to act. What if he offended him? Better not to get too close or he would leave as well.

Not that Lucario would admit it, but as he held tightly onto the bag in his paws he repressed the urge to shift again.

The sun shone brightly through the glass front of the entrance hall. It was a sunny, bight day and he was currently waiting for his new trainer.

Lucario looked at the clock again. One thirty three.

Gwen strode over from the secretaries desk. "Akira called in. She said there was an emergency coming in and she will be late, as she has to help out. We are going to meet her at her flat to save time."

Where is she working?

With his old trainer Lucario hadn't dared to ask a question, but for the past weeks Gwen had been nothing but encouraging Lucario to ask.

"She is a nurse in a hospital. She is working full shifts, but her apartment is close to the park. By the way, she told me where she keeps the spare key, so I will be able to let us in."

Lucario nodded, sat up from the brown bench and grabbed his bag. It was made out of a light, but durable fabric and held his possessions. The first he had ever had.

"Come on Lucario. I'm sure you will like it. It's your taste."

The walk to the apartment was quite. Lucario kept a fast pace, feeling uncomfortable around the humans. His hears twitched constantly, jumping at every shadow in his way. Instead of becoming less crowded, the mass of people increased the further they walked.

The scent of fresh cut grass and flowers filled Lucario's nuzzle, as the stopped in front of the apartment. The laughter, that rang over the high fence and the trees, made the Pokemon realise how near the park was.

"Coming Lucario?"

Gwen had just extracted his hand from the mail box, where Akira had stuck the spare key half way to the bottom on the inside.

Lucario started walking up the stairs, as Gwen opened the door to the block. Chrysanthemum stood next two the entrance in two big pots, flourishing inside from the sunlight, which trickled through the milky glass of the door. The blue Pokemon started walking up the stairs.

On the count of thirty they stopped.

They were on the second floor and four doors led from the floor to the apartments. Gwen chose the one with a green painted welcome sign. It was hand painted.

The human opened the door and both of them stepped inside.

It was nothing like Lucario had expected. The rooms he had been in yet had been mostly training areas, but this…was what he suspected what a normal home looked like.

The living room had a big, comfortable looking sofa, a table in front of it and a TV set. The walls were lined with bookshelves. On their left there was a wide window front, giving away a beautiful view at the park's lake, the sky mirror.

While Lucario stored the information away he put his bag down. The whole place emitted an aura of peace, of a normal, average life.

He blocked out Gwen's chatter about Lucario's diet, as the nurse in the PRE had said he was too thin and at how Akira had said she would arrange the day and opened a window. Laughter rang over the lake. Children were playing, splashing each other. As he put his paws on the window sill Lucario felt several crumbs under his paws. Intrigued he looked around.

The rest of the apartment had looked rather spotless. There were several crumbs on the floor, as well as the parquet was lighter here, as if someone had rubbed it too much and it was often walked upon.

_It looks like she enjoys the view often too. I wonder what Akira is like._

His answer was soon given, as a pair of keys jingled in the lock and a brown haired young woman of about twenty stepped through the door.

" You are already here, that`s good. Well, sorry again Gwen, Lucario. It was a real hassle today at work." She was out of breath and dropped several bags on the floor. The smell of warm bakeries filled Lcario's nuzzle.

Gwen smiled. "Don't worry. We have just come here. So, Lucario, this is Akira. As I have already told you, she has agreed to take you in. I hope you two will get along with everything." He turned to the woman again.

"If you have questions, please feel free to call me."

He turned around and walked over to Lucario. Gwen knelt down in front of the Pokemon, to shield her from Akira's view, which took the hint and busied herself in the kitchen.

"If ANYTHING is wrong you can always come to the PRE. May it be that you have to talk about something, may it be that you want another trainer. No matter what, you are always welcome. Promise me you will."

His black eyes bore into Lucario's until the aura Pokemon gave a sharp nod and stepped away from the close proximity. He had learned to trust the man, but this closeness just unnerved him. No human had ever come so close to him when he was conscious.

His second trainer had tried at first, but had stopped when Lucario continued to evade him.

The man said no more as he left the apartment. There was just nothing more to say, that wouldn't be out of protocol. When the door fell close the apartment was silent. Akira stood in the kitchen, her back towards Lucario, as she was standing at the stove, cooking something.

The sun was warming his fur and after an invitation from Akira to make himself comfortable, the tea would be ready soon, so that they could chat and get acquainted, Lucario curled up on the couch. He didn`t know why, but somehow he trusted Gwen and Mark that they had done good work and that this place would turn out differently than his last.


End file.
